The White Horse Talisman (The Summer of Magic Quartet, 1) [Hardcover]

Andrea Spalding (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Summer of Magic Quartet

The White Horse Talisman The Summer of Magic Quartet Andrea Spalding Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award nominee 2002 Hackmatack Children's Choice Award nominee 2002-03 Silver Birch nominee 2003 Diamond Willow nominee 2003-04 Alberta's Rocky Mountain Young Readers 2003 CCBC Our Choice 2003 The battle between good and evil plays itself out through two children, a mythical horse and an imprisoned dragon. It was seven minutes after midnight on the seventh day. Whoooooooosh! A flash of light streaked the sky. A shooting star touched a strange carving on the hillside and a magical horse shook itself free of the chalk and rose to its feet. It was seven minutes after midnight on the seventh day of the seventh month. The only person watching was Chantel. No matter. It was enough. The summer of magic could begin. The White Horse Talisman is the first volume of The Summer of Magic Quartet, four books involving a Canadian brother and sister visiting their two English cousins. In The White Horse Talisman, Chantel, Adam, Holly and Owen must help Equus, the great white horse, find his mate and foal and regain his magical talisman. But as the horse rises, so does the dragon. The age-old battle between good and evil threatens the bond between Chantel and Adam and endangers the quest. This is fantasy as its best, a story that raises hairs on the back of the neck and sends satisfying chills up and down the spine, a story that, while clearly drawn from the rich world of make believe, feels truer than true. Award-winning author, Andrea Spalding, has written many popular books for children, including Young Readers Phoebe and the Gypsy and The Keeper and the Crows and picturebooks Sarah May and the New Red Dress, Me and Mr. Mah, and It's Raining, It's Pouring. An accomplished storyteller, Andrea hails from England where she was long steeped in ancient lore, lore that now finds it full expression in the first volume of The Summer of Magic Quartet. The White Horse Talisman is the first of four books in The Summer of Magic Quartet. Book two is Dance of the Stones Book three is Heart of the Hill Book four is Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (coming 2006)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Chantel and Adam are on summer vacation in England with their cousins Holly and Owen. The first night, Chantel sees a shooting star, and because she believes in magic, Equus, one of the Wise Ones, is able to communicate with her. Because the powers of the Dark Being are growing stronger, the Wise Ones need human help to find their three "objects of power" that were buried on Earth for safekeeping in the old times. On a visit to the Uffington White Horse carving, Chantel works "horse magic" and finds half of Equus's talisman. The other half can only be found when the children uncover the lost carving of the Red Horse. Adam is jealous of her and angry about numerous things, so he is receptive to the honeyed, sly words of Worm, the dragon that tries to get him to find the other half of the talisman, thus setting up the classic battle between good and evil. The novel has all of the makings of a typical British fantasy, though it is not as well executed as Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" series (McElderry). The historical information about the Uffington White Horse and other legends is interesting, but the plot is rather predictable to anyone who reads much fantasy, and the characters are fairly flat. Still, readers looking for something light may be entertained.
Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. Magic is not what Canadians Chantal and Adam anticipated when arriving at their cousins' home in the English countryside for the summer. But when the children find half of a magic talisman near the mysterious, ancient White Horse carving in the hillside, they're thrown into a quest--to help the White Horse, a Wise One of the universe and a force of good find its missing half and fight the dark force of the honey-tongued dragon. Fantasy fans will anticipate many of the plot conventions, and the backdrop of the Canadian parents' divorce is somewhat intrusive and overly didactic. But the characters are likable, and the story, steeped in appealing Celtic lore and actual places, is inventive, well paced, and bursting with action that is just right for middle-graders who love classic battles between good and evil. Book one in the Summer of Magic Quartet starts things off well. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551431874
• ISBN-13: 978-1551431871
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,257,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fantasy Book, February 20, 2003

By 

Book Club Mum "Book Club Raver" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The White Horse Talisman (Summer of Magic Quartet) (Paperback)

The White Horse Talisman By Andrea Spalding is a great fantasy book. It is about Chantel and her brother Adam who go to Britain from Canada to their cousins Owen and Holly. Chantel, Adam, Owen and Holly have to help the White Horse, Equus, find his mate the red horse and foal. Equus is one of the wise ones. He can talk to Chantal in her mind since Chantal believes in horse magic.
Adam gets jealous of Chantel thanks to the honey-tongued dragon Worm. My favorite character is Equus because he’s a good character and he’s magical. He runs on the wind and can go through time. I wish I could do those things.
My least favourite character is Worm. He is evil and tricks people with his words that sound kind but are evil like Adam. Worm tells Adam, ‘That’s good, let your anger fuel my dragon magic. Watch the light.’ Worm gets Adam to do his bad deeds by talking to him and making him angry and also using spells.
My favourite scene is when Equus and Worm fight. They move very fast, fire blazing, hooves flashing, claws slashing and tails lashing. The dragon flies up and Equus races after him, collides and it ended.
If you want to find out who wins in the battle between Equus and Worm and if Equus finds his mate and foal, you should read The White Horse Talisman.

5.0 out of 5 stars The White Horse Talisman, February 5, 2003

By 

River Nix (Minas Morgul, Mordor, Middle Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The White Horse Talisman (The Summer of Magic Quartet, 1) (Hardcover)

To disagree with the editorial reviews, I LOVED 'The White Horse Talisman', especially the way the characters seemed so real and the setting so inviting. I read a lot of fantasy, and this book was a great example of a wonderful fantasy story. Ms. Spalding put a lot of thought and research into her book, making it very interesting and an unforgettable adventure. If you liked THE DARK IS RISING you will LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fantasy Book, February 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The White Horse Talisman (The Summer of Magic Quartet, 1) (Hardcover)

The White Horse Talisman By Andrea Spalding is a great fantasy book. It is about Chantel and her brother Adam who go to Britain from Canada to their cousins Owen and Holly. Chantel, Adam, Owen and Holly have to help the White Horse, Equus, find his mate the red horse and foal. Equus is one of the wise ones. He can talk to Chantal in her mind since Chantal believes in horse magic.
Adam gets jealous of Chantel thanks to the honey-tongued dragon Worm. My favorite character is Equus because hes a good character and hes magical. He runs on the wind and can go through time. I wish I could do those things.
My least favourite character is Worm. He is evil and tricks people with his words that sound kind but are evil like Adam. Worm tells Adam, Thats good, let your anger fuel my dragon magic. Watch the light. Worm gets Adam to do his bad deeds by talking to him and making him angry and also using spells.
My favourite scene is when Equus and Worm fight. They move very fast, fire blazing, hooves flashing, claws slashing and tails lashing. The dragon flies up and Equus races after him, collides and it ended.
If you want to find out who wins in the battle between Equus and Worm and if Equus finds his mate and foal, you should read The White Horse Talisman.